Two fine horses, one after the other, galloped into the city of Huai Ning. All along the way, the horses kicked up clouds of dust until they reached the streets where there were a lot of people. The reins were then tightened to slow down the horses and finally, the two horses stopped in front of a big dark red door. On top of the door beam hung a big black wooden plaque with two gold characters "Fu Mansion" engraved on it. The big tall man took the lead and dismounted from his horse. Almost at the same time, the dark red doors opened from the inside and a servant came out. As soon as the servant saw him, immediately the servant expressed his pleasant surprise. The servant quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands into a fist and bowed respectfully.

(This is how a beaded door with lion-headed knocker looks like.)  

(A black plaque is seen here hanging over the door and the lion-headed knocker is also shown.)  **All photos here belong to Pinterest.

"w.a.n.g-Ye, you have arrived. Old Madam is waiting for you in her room and said that the moment w.a.n.g-Ye arrives, w.a.n.g-Ye is to go and see her immediately."

"Alright."

Long Hao Tian handed his horse to the servant, took a few steps forward and then stopped. Then he turned around and asked.

"Is Young Master in?"

"In reply to w.a.n.g-Ye, Young Master has gone to Jin Zhi Square, west of the city and is not back yet. Do you need us to send word to request Young Master to return?"

The servant respectfully answered. w.a.n.g-Ye rarely makes a trip here and the servant was prepared to send word personally to Young Master in the west of the city, to request him to return quickly.

"No need."

Long Hao Tian lifted his eyebrows and smiled slightly. He started to walk into the house again followed closely by Liu Yong.

He walked through numerous winding corridors, pa.s.sed rock gardens with pavilions and the servants who saw him along the way, stopped by the side and bowed respectfully to him. Long Hao Tian nodded slightly in acknowledgment but did not halt his footsteps. He walked into a courtyard with a building in the deepest part of the mansion, knocked on the door and after receiving an answer from inside, he went in.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Old Madam Fu and hurriedly ask, thinking there was a major problem, otherwise, Yi-Niang* would not send word by flying pigeons*, requesting his presence urgently.

(Yi-Niang is an aunt, the mother"s sister)

(Sending word by flying pigeons was a way of sending messages by homing pigeons during ancient times)

"Yi-Niang, you were anxiously looking for me. What is the urgency?"

Old Madam Fu took the cup of tea from the maid who was standing beside her. When the lid was lifted, a burst of fragrant tea drifted into the air. After taking a few sips, she returned the cup to the maid beside her. Her pair of eyes looked at the worried expression on the face in front her and said mockingly.

"What? I just want to see my nephew, must I have something important before I can summon my high-status w.a.n.g-Ye?

When Long Hao Tian heard her words, he heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, he could only shake his head, forced a smile and did not dare to refute.

"Yi-Niang, it is not what I meant."

Old Madam Fu sent her maid away, gave orders that no one was to enter the room, then only did she look up at the person who was smiling.

"Where is Qian Qi, that girl? Why is she not here with you?"

"I thought Yi-Niang had urgent matters when you summoned me, so I hurriedly came on my own and did not tell Qian Qi."

If he had known the reason Yi-Niang summoned him was not a matter of urgency, he would not have hurriedly came over. Long Hao Tian, could not help but think in his heart, he should have let the servant send word to his cousin to come back, just now.

"Some time ago, I heard that Queen Mother and the Emperor had planned to decree you a marriage but was strongly rejected by you."

It was because she had heard the news and after thinking about it for some time, then only decided to talk to him.

"Yes, there was such a matter. Is it because of that matter Yi-Niang had urgently sent for me?"

Long Hao Tian"s expression changed slightly. If Yi-Niang is also starting to worry about his marriage, then it can be expected that in future, his days will become more difficult.

"Hao Tian, you are going to be 30 years-old this year and you are not young any more. Have you met any girl that you like?"

Old Madam Fu stared at him. This child is very handsome and his n.o.ble status also brought out his extraordinary imposing manner.

"No." Long Hao Tian answered.

The more and more he thought of this, he felt that this time, it was a mistake for him to come. In the Palace, he was at his wit"s end and now he had unwisely offered himself here.

"There is something I have not told you all this while and I think now is the time."

"What is it?" As long as this matter was not related to his marriage, it was not a problem.

"I"m sure you have heard of Luoyang"s Dong Fang Family."

"Yes."

Long Hao Tian vaguely felt that the matter Yi-Niang is about to tell him is not a simple matter.

"This matter happened 20 years ago. When your mother was alive, she and Lady Dong Fang were close friends. Twenty years ago, when Lady Dong Fang was pregnant with her fourth child, she had promised that if she were to give birth to a girl, she hoped the girl would be matched in marriage with you. If the child was a boy, the both of you would be sworn brothers. At that time, it was understood that if the child is a girl, she will send a golden hairpin and if the child is a boy, then a short dagger will be sent. Unfortunately, Lady Dong Fang was poisoned and it was reported she pa.s.sed away soon after birth. The newborn baby had inherited the mother"s poisonous toxins and almost died."

When Old Madam Fu thought of the past, she could not help but sigh. That time, when her Sister heard Lady Dong Fang had suddenly pa.s.sed away, Sister had grieved for a long time.

"Then did you find out whether Lady Dong Fang gave birth to a girl or a boy?"

Long Hao Tian had a calm expression on his face but he clasped both his hands together tightly and his voice sounded slightly excited.

"This is a mystery and is also something that I and Sister could not decipher. At that time, Lady Dong Fang had clearly sent over the golden hairpin to Sister but Dong Fang Family had vehemently denied and said the child was a boy. That time, Lady Dong Fang had just pa.s.sed away and the baby was already taken away, so this matter has never been verified. Before Sister pa.s.sed away, she had given me the wooden box and hoped that I will tell you when it is the right time so that you will solve this mystery personally."

(Golden hairpins will look something like this.  In ancient times the ends of the pins are like sticks and the modern pins will have comb-like ends.) 

Old Madam Fu took out a small wooden box made of ebony from the drawer and handed the box to Long Hao Tian.

He lifted up the lid and saw a golden hairpin lying on a brocade cloth inside the box. He gazed at the pin for a long time before he finally closed the box.

"Yi-Niang, thank you for telling me about this. I will investigate this matter myself."

If this is true, then the whole Dong Fang Family had committed a big crime of duping the Emperor and he had inexplicably gained a fiancée. Holding the wooden box with both his hands, he thought of the woman he met in the hot spring pool that night with an extremely beautiful face, the heroic Dong Fang Jie.

"Since you are already here, you should stay for a few days."

"Yes, Yi-Niang."

He needed time to figure out what he should do next. Once he had decided to make a move, he would not tolerate failure. Whatever belongs to him he will certainly make sure to get it back.

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

In the reserved room, two men equally attractive but of different temperament sat face to face.

The man wearing blue robes with handsome features, even if he tried to cover up, one could still see the n.o.ble arrogance he radiated. The other man in white robes with handsome elegant facial features seems to be gentle and harmless but in Huai Ning City, no one dared to offend him. This person is the Young Master of Jin Zhi Square and he is also the younger cousin brother of the current Jing w.a.n.g.

Fu-Hong Yao picked up some food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth and at the same time casually asked.

"Cousin Brother, are you sure you want to leave tomorrow? Don"t you want to stay longer?"

Although the two of them did not meet often but their feelings for each other was better than siblings. Even if they only meet once in a blue moon, they did not feel awkward with each other.

"No. I must investigate this matter as soon as possible."

If this mystery is not solved, it will rest heavily in his heart which makes him uneasy.

"I also want to know, whether this Dong Fang Jie, Jade Face Hunter whom all women are attracted to, is in fact, a male or a female. If my help is needed, Cousin Brother, please let me know."

Fu-Hong Yao sipped the wine in his cup, both his eyes full of interest and he simply just wanted to see a good show.

"Thank you. If I really need your help, I will not be polite." Long Hao Tian said.

Long Hao Tian lifted his wine cup to drink with Fu-Hong Yao and did not miss the interest in his eyes.

Suddenly, downstairs on the main street, loud sounds of a gong could be heard.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

On the main street, the harsh sounds of the gong were piercing to the ear which attracted everyone"s attention. One after another, the people put down whatever they were doing and headed towards the man who was. .h.i.tting a gong and shouting loudly.

"Everybody, just now, in the foothills behind the temple in the west of the city, Yamen"s guards discovered the corpse of a woman who was raped and killed with the skin of her face sliced off."

Just as he finished speaking, the din from the people who had gathered around him and the waves of sharp screams instantly caused a commotion.

"Zhang Bao, are you telling the truth?"

In the crowd, someone asked the man who was. .h.i.tting the gong.

"Of course, it is the truth! I heard there were similar tragic cases in Gangling City and Yongping County. Our Huai Ning City is the seventh case. I heard Jade Face Hunter is investigating this case and also heard the murderer committed crimes in the same place, not less than three times. And the victims are all single, young beautiful women."

As soon as Zhang Bao spoke those words, the people were so shocked that their expressions changed drastically. Many people who had daughters at home were frightened and quickly left.

"Cousin Brother, it seems that you don"t have to leave."

Fu-Hong Yao opened wide the window which overlooked the main street and could clearly hear everyone"s conversation clearly.

"How can Dong Fang Jie let the murderer escape again and again? Now they have come to Huai Ning City and let the murderer commit this seventh blood tainted case."

Long Hao Tian wrinkled his eyebrows, played with the wine cup in his hand and felt suspicious.

"If he can escape from Jade Face Hunter, it seems the murderer is not easy to handle."

Fu-Hong Yao"s dignified face began to show his worry for the safety of the women in the city.

Long Hao Tian stood up and left a sentence.

"I"ll go to Yamen to find out more about this."

As he was about to open the door, he heard a cool teasing voice behind him.

"Cousin Brother, even if you are eager to see Dong Fang Jie, you don"t need to be this anxious."

On the face of Fu-Hong Yao, there was a teasing expression and immediately he received a contemptuous stare. However, he was not afraid of death and there was a smile on his lips.

After the door was pulled closed, the smile on Fu-Hong Yao"s face gradually expanded. He looked at the tall figure that had just emerged from the inn, walking down the street and the tall figure feeling his intense gaze, turned around abruptly. The eagle-like black eyes stared back at him with an implicit warning and then left.

Fu-Hong Yao"s eyes were full of interest as he stared at the distant retreating figure. Whether Dong Fang Jie is a man or a woman or whether Dong Fang Family had committed a crime in duping the Emperor, all these had nothing to do with him. He is only interested in his Cousin Brother"s att.i.tude and he believed this will definitely be a good show worth watching.